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A clear voice of her generation, Sierra DeMulder's writing offers a gritty, sincere perspective on the subtle joys and modern pains of living. Her debut collection The Bones Below delicately carries the reader to a place of brutal, beautiful honesty. DeMulder's personal revelations complete a touching portrait of the young artist and her fearless exploration of the human experience, bare in its rawest and most tender forms.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

DeMulder possesses the most important quality a young writer can have, a unique voice. That voice exploded onto the national poetry scene. Sierra uses subtlety and tension the way photographers use angle. She will eat your heart out with a spoon. -Karen Finneyfrock, "Ceremony for the Choking Ghost"

…DeMulder is intensely personal. - Huffington Post

...violently passionate and sweet, deftly moving between the two modes. - The Lamron, New Journal of SUNY Geneseo

About the Author

Sierra DeMulder is a Pushcart-nominated touring performance poet. In 2009 she won the National Poetry Slam, was awarded Best Female Poet at College Union Poetry Slam Invitational, and ranked 9th at the Individual World Poetry Slam. In 2010 she made the Finals Stage at the Women of the World Individual Poetry Slam. DeMulder is a member of the Intangible Spoken Word Collective and an active member in her local poetry community in St Paul, MN and holding writing workshops at women's centers, homeless shelters and prisons. She has been trying not to trip since 1986.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

The first time I heard Sierra read her original work,she was quite young, perhaps 20 and I thought she wasinterpreting the work of another, much older, well-establishedpoet. It was shocking to learn that she was performing herown words. Deeply moved by the experience,I knew in that moment she would become "One of the Greats"and felt extraordinary gratitude for having been one of thefirst to hear her. Sierra's writing will touch you to the bones below.She will take you to the place of her truth, shadows, darkness and light.

Sierra is quickly becoming the new voice of our generation. The subject matter she tackles and wordplay she uses is freshly unique and touches readers on a personal level. I wouldn't be surprised if her work is taught in poetry and women's lit courses in the near future. I definitely recommend this book!

"Call her name backwards, forwardsWave your arms like your chest is a runwayShe is the plane you are crashing."

The Bones Below is that unique combination of desperation and optimism that is often lacking in contemporary poetry. While DeMulder's cohorts are lambasted for being self-indulgent and unfocused, DeMulder can deftly balance her anger with wit, her melancholy with wordplay, and her sincerity with nothing.

O, Economy (Part 1) is a poem that reads simply:"Today, I plan on stealing from the grocery storeand washing my laundry by hand in the bathtub."

She can be biting and self-consciously childish with her open letter "To the Woman Hitting on My Boyfriend" which promises,"Now, I'm a feminist so I avoidusing the B-word in the spirit of sisterhoodBut sister, just because I'm a feministdoesn't mean I won't cut a bitch."

But poems like "Cycle of Abuse," "Talking to God" and "Sawdust" are raw, lyrical, explanations of events that don't bestow much blame but just deal with reality in the aftermath. There's not an ounce of pettiness. And Sierra knows how to write the s*** out of a love poem. "When the Apocalypse Comes," is an avowal of love that would make anyone blush:

"I will crawl to you across the curdling parking lot of a citylick your body new again like my tongueis God's hand trying to erase and recreate the earth."

There's no way to get through this book without gasping in recognition. In the way that everyone makes jokes about their pain, about their loneliness, about their self-doubt, DeMulder makes them and knows that it's an avoidance. Her self-protective laughter is something she's in on and she embraces it.Read more ›

After watching Sierra perform her poetry live, reading this book allowed me to carry a bit of her infectious delivery through each page. If you care for words that evoke great emotion, read The Bones Below.

When you talk with people about poetry, they tend to say it is dead and buried. That it's an art of the past, all this verse and stuff. Besides, it's boring, and there is no story. Twilight, on the other hand... Well, that's something, right?

This book is how you answer these people. It's amazing modern poetry that resonates with what we're all living today. Demulder is not afraid of getting personal, but even then her words will not be lost on you. If you're planning to buy 'The Bones Below', you probably have watched her spoken word poetry on the Internet. Then you should know this book has a value of its own and certainly does not fall short of her performances.

Anyway, it's amazing and sticks with you a long way down the road. It's so soothing you don't even resent the few typos (and I'm the kind of guy who resents typos). It's so chilling it makes you want to write. Oh, and it's also a beautiful object! So: Buy. It. Now.